Fate Wears a Black Coat
by KatLady86
Summary: Neo goes into the Matrix and gets the shock of his life...The Plan is now in motion...
1.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Matrix, nor do I claim to. (That honor falls to the Wachowski brothers, or the agents depending on your point of view.) All I own is this story, and Kismet.   
Who is Kismet, you ask? Read on…  
  
Fate Wears a Black Coat  
Part 1:The kings gathered together…  
  
"Are you almost finished with those repairs?"  
Neo raised his welding visor and looked up. "Pretty much. How's the rest of it coming."  
Trinity shrugged. "It's all right, but it's a Band-Aid on a broken leg. We're probably gonna start heading back to Zion soon."   
"Zion?" Neo's eyebrows raised suddenly. "You mean, the city? Where Tank's from?"  
Trinity nodded. "We need some rather extensive repairs and Zion is the best place for them. Hey, you've been wanting to see it, haven't you? It's pretty spectacular."  
"I bet," Neo replied, then looked up as the lights flickered.  
Trinity sighed. "Morpheus is trying to get the engines going again. He'll need my help. You stay here and finish up. I'll give you a yell when we're on approach. You won't want to miss the view when we dock."  
Neo smiled and pulled the visor back over his eyes. As he tried to get the blowtorch fired up, Trinity kissed him lightly on top of his head, where his dark hair continued to try to grow in. It was longer than it had been, tickling her so that she giggled slightly.  
As she walked to the engine room where Morpheus waited, she reflected back on the changes in herself and her life. Before Neo, she had been religiously stoic, seeming a part of the Holy Trine after which she was named. Now…she was slightly more relaxed. Not careless, just more open. Heading down the stairs to the engine room, she smiled. Boy, will Kismet flip when she finds out.  
  
"Neo!"  
He threw his visor to the ground and ran to the cockpit. "Coming!"  
Skidding to a halt, he gasped as he saw the great metal hulk of a city spread out before them.   
Tank smiled at his shock and recited, " 'The kings gathered together and came to attack Mount Zion. But when they saw it, they were amazed; they were afraid and ran away.' "  
"That's…Zion?" Neo whispered. "It's…beautiful."  
Trinity smiled. "Don't forget the most important part. It's all real."  
The docking was smooth under Morpheus's gentle touch, and Neo practically flew off of the ship and into the docking bay. He stood there for several minutes, staring in amazement at everything around him. After a few moments of this, someone laid a hand on his shoulder. He spun to his left, fining a young woman about his age smiling at him. Her hair was soft brown and cropped short, though a little longer than Trinity's.   
"You must be new," she commented, her voice friendly. "The new ones always just stare when they first get here. My name's Link."  
"I'm Neo," he replied.  
Before he could say more, Trinity walked up, giving a nod of greeting to Link. "Come on, Neo. There's someone I want you to meet."  
Link's eyebrows raised. "You taking him to see Kismet?" When Trinity nodded, Link added, "She's in the dive room. Said she had something to take care of."  
Trinity looked curious, but did not ask. "I'll see you later." With Neo close behind, Trinity headed for the dive room.  
  
Rows of interface chairs seemed to fill the room. Surprisingly, most of them were empty. Only three were full, two men and one woman. Trinity moved over to the woman on dive watch. She looked up from her screen, flashing a grin at Trinity. "Hey, Trin. Haven't seen you in a while."  
"You got watch again, Chip?" she asked.  
Chip shrugged. "Yeah, but it doesn't bother me. Looking for Kismet? She's plugged in over there." She jerked her thumb in the direction of the woman in the interface chair. "Been in for almost three hours now. Don't know what the hell she's doing. She wouldn't tell anybody."  
"Think she'll be out soon?" Trinity wondered.  
As if in response, Chip spun back to the screen. "Operator…Um…closest exit…the telephone booth on the corner…what do you mean too many witnesses?…Fine…Try three blocks over, just inside the old library………Got it? Okay. See ya on the real side."  
Kismet's eyes fluttered open, and she smiled up at Trinity when the woman removed her plug. "Thanks…I missed you. How's Morpheus treating you?" She sat up and stretched her arms.   
"He's treating me all right," Trinity smiled. "How are you?"  
Kismet grinned. "Having your own ship is a beautiful thing. You ought to apply for one some day. You'd like it."  
Trinity shook her head. "No thanks. I'd rather take the orders than give them. Kismet, this is Neo."  
Kismet's eyes widened in shock. "So…you're the One…I've heard about you…" She smiled slowly. "You're beautiful."  
She got up out of the chair and moved purposefully down the hall. Trinity and Neo stared after her. "What's going on with her?" he asked. "I mean…it's like there's something not right…"  
"Old scars," she replied. "She's the captain of one of our ships; the Indefatigable. It's not her first ship, though. She had another before. She was in the Matrix with three of her crew when squiddies attacked. Kismet managed to get out, but the outside half of her crew was dead. The squiddies were tearing her ship apart…and it was only a matter of time before they got to her. She used the EMP…with half of her crew still in the Matrix. The squiddies were dead…and so was her crew. Kismet patched up the whole ship herself and brought it back to Zion. She wanted her crew to have a good funeral. After that…she's always been a little different."  
Neo put one hand behind his head. "Yeah, I guess you could call her that."  
  
The following morning, Neo awoke early to the sound of steady footsteps up and down the halls. He stood and pulled on his boots, lacing them quickly. Cautiously, he opened the door, just in time to see Kismet sprinting past. Before he could speak, she put on the brakes and smiled. "Hi, there," she grinned. "Sleep well?"  
He nodded. "What are you doing up so early?"  
She shrugged. "What else am I going to do? I sleep when I feel like it. I don't feel like it now."  
Neo studied her with interest. He hadn't gotten a good look at her yesterday, and now her appearance was striking. Her hair was dark black and cropped short, though longer than some of the other women's hair. She was tall and slim, but with a presence that was almost enough to knock him to the ground. The clothes she wore were slightly too large, like most of the soldiers'. They were patched and torn, a brownish stain discoloring the right shoulder. Her blue-gray eyes glittered out at him, and she seemed much younger than she had the other day.  
"If you don't mind my asking," Neo began, "how old are you?"  
"Old enough," she shot back, more out of reflex than response. "I'm sorry…I mean…I'm seventeen."  
"Get harped on about your age, don't you?" Neo guessed.  
She nodded. "I did…for a long time. They didn't think I was old enough to handle a ship…and the powers that be almost didn't let me have Indy after…" She looked up at him. "I assume Trin told you."  
"Yeah," Neo replied. "It was a tough call. I don't think I would have known what to do."  
Kismet ran a hand through her hair. "I just…did it, you know? Afterwards…I took some flack for it, but everyone was pretty impressed I managed to get the ship back here by myself." She shifted her weight from foot to foot. "Listen…you wanna go on my run with me? We can talk while we go, if you want."  
Neo shrugged. "What else am I going to do?"  
Kismet flashed a grin at him. "Good. Just keep up, okay?"  
She was off before he could answer. Neo managed to catch up with her, matching her rapid pace. After some time, however, he found himself lagging behind her. The few times they did get even, he could tell it was because she had dropped back. Their run took them over almost all the corridors of the military aspect of Zion. Kismet pointed out the residences for the families, but the two didn't journey down those halls. Finally, she stopped at the dive room. "You wanna hit the construct for a little while?" she asked.  
"Sure," Neo panted back. "But…how do you do it? Run so fast? And so far?"  
Kismet smiled down at him. Her expression was like one Neo had seen used on small children and idiots, so he felt resentment burning inside him. "It's not your fault," she explained patiently. "Remember, this is your real body, not the Matrix version of you. You've built up your muscles enough that you can walk around and exert yourself a little, but you're nowhere near where your cyber-self is. You'll have to work at it, but I'm willing to help you. Only if you want me to, though. I know I don't like getting help forced on me, so I'll just guess you don't like it either. Interested?"  
Neo nodded, still attempting to catch his breath. Kismet beamed. "Perfect. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning for another run. For now, though…Link!"  
The brunette turned away from her computer screen. "Yeah?"  
"Neo and I are going to the construct for a little while, kay?"  
"You got it. I'll keep an eye on you."  
Neo and Kismet took their seats, and in moments were in the white plane of the construct. Neo was in his traditional black outfit, while Kismet sported one similar. Around her right wrist, something glittered, but Neo couldn't see what it was.  
Kismet pulled a cell phone from her pocket. "Link? Load the jump program…Yeah, I'm serious; just load it!…Who's the captain here? Load the damn program!" She snapped the phone shut with a growl as the buildings of the jump program took shape beneath her and Neo. She looked across the roof at him.  
"I know you've been here before," she began. "I know you know what to do. What I want is for you to get to the opposite roof. When you get there, I'll show you my point."   
Neo was more than a little confused, but he just shrugged. In one fluid leap, he was on the opposite roof. Kismet clapped a little, impressed. "Now," she called to him, "I'm going to show you my answer."  
Very calmly, she strode to the edge of the roof and stood on the lip. With no change in expression, Kismet put one foot over the side and began walking across…on the air. Neo's jaw dropped as she continued on until she was standing directly in front of him. "The point of this," she said, "was to show you the obvious answer doesn't have to make the most sense. Walking on air is just a demonstration." She pulled out the phone again. "Link? Load the combat program, dojo pattern."  
The next second, the two were standing in the middle of a square room, dressed in simple karate uniforms. Kismet met Neo's eyes across the room. "You've been here before, too," she said. "I know you're good. Being the One, I'm expecting you to be the best. I wanna see the answer for myself." She slid into a fighting stance. "Whenever you're ready."  
Neo hesitated a moment, then charged. He moved to punch her in the ribs, his fist a blur. He didn't feel any impact, then looked down. Kismet had his right wrist held calmly in her grip.  
  
Link's jaw hung open. "I am…seeing this, right?" she gasped. "I mean…he's the One…but she's stopping his punch…Oh, man!!" She turned away from the monitors for a moment. "You guys!" she screamed down the corridor. "Come here, quick!"  
Chip stuck her head around the corner. "What's going on, Link? You got problems? Agents?!"  
Link shook her head frantically. "No, no! Nothing like that! It's just…Kismet's fighting Neo in the construct! And she stopped his punch!!"  
Chip was halfway down the hall.  
  
Chip came skidding into the mess hall. Everyone tensed and more than a few people leapt to their feet, prepared for news of disaster. "The dive room!" Chip gasped. "Everybody to the dive room! Kismet's fighting Neo! She stopped his punch!!"  
Chip ran from the room, a tidal wave of people surging behind her. They came tearing down the corridor and skidded to a halt around the monitor. Link shoved them back with a chipped coffee mug. "Come on, come on! Give me a little room, here!"  
The crowd moved back a little, but not much. They were too enthralled by the ballet on the screen before them.  
  
To Neo and Kismet, the fight seemed impossibly slow. After she had caught his right arm, he had attempted to punch with his left. She caught that, too. In a strangely beautiful move, Kismet jumped straight up, so that her feet were on Neo's outstretched arms. Using them as a springboard, she vaulted over Neo's head, carrying out an mid-air somersault. She landed behind him, so that they were back to back. Whirling around, she caught her leg around his knees, knocking him down. Neo fell to his right dropping to all fours. He was on his feet in an instant and ran backwards, out of range of Kismet's onslaught.   
She laughed. "Better, Neo, better! I'm seeing it now." She raced forward, throwing punches to force him back. When he felt his back hit a support beam, Neo braced his arms on the beam and kicked out with both legs. His feet caught Kismet square in the chest. She staggered back, gasping but smiling.  
"Okay, I'll let you have that one," she managed out, arms wrapped around her ribs in pain.  
"You wanna stop?" Neo asked, concern coloring his voice. "I mean…if you're hurt…"  
"I'm fine!" Kismet yelled back. "Come on, Neo! Fight me!!"  
He shook his head. She screamed at him, then charged. She kicked and punched blindly, screaming louder and louder while Neo held her back with one hand. "You bastard!" she swore. "You afraid to fight me?! Don't wanna hurt the little girl?! I've got more combat experience than you can ever know! If you weren't so scared, I'd have killed you by now! I could care less that you're the One!! I'll kill you! You hear me?? I'll kill you!!"  
Her fist swept across his jaw, leaving a red smear in its wake. Neo's reflexes kicked in and he brought his fist hard into her side. He felt the bones crack beneath his hand and saw the expression of pain and fear sweep across Kismet's face. She fell with unbearable slowness to the matted floor, blood running from the corner of her mouth. She lay there, her breathing the only sound. "I'll kill you," she whispered. "I'll fucking kill you…"  
"Link!" Neo yelled, looking wildly around the room. "Link, get us out of here, now! She needs help!! Get us out!"  
"Li-ink!" Kismet screamed, throat raw. "Don't you listen to him! Don't you dare pull the plug! You take me out of here, and I'll kill you too! I know you're listening, Link! Don't you…take me out…of here…Don't you dare…"  
Kismet's eyes fluttered closed and her body relaxed. Neo rushed over and knelt beside her. "Link! Out, NOW!!"  
The construct dissolved away and Neo's eyes shot open. "Kismet! Somebody get her!"  
Trinity forced him back in the chair with a gentle hand. "We've got her, Neo. She'll be okay."  
Neo looked to his left, where Morpheus and Chip were lifting Kismet from her chair. She hung limply in their arms and her head lolled to the side. Neo closed his eyes, tears running from the corners. "I didn't mean to hurt her," he murmured, only half-noticing when Trinity withdrew the mind probe. "I didn't mean…"  
Trinity put a finger on his lips. "Don't beat yourself up. She was asking for it and you know it." She sighed. "Kismet's like that…She's looking for the next big challenge. You're it."  
Neo sat up slowly. "I wish it wasn't me…You're sure she'll be fine?"  
Trinity nodded. "She'll get the best care there is."  
"Can I see her later?"  
Trinity smiled at the pleading in his voice. He sounded so little… "Sure, if you'd like."  
"Yeah…I would like that."  
  
Three days later, Neo arrived at the door to Kismet's hospital room. He hesitated, leaning against the frame for a few minutes. He sighed. She wouldn't want him here when she saw him. He might as well leave…  
"Neo…" The whisper drifted across the room from the bed. Kismet looked at him, smiling in the soft, secret way that was her trademark. "Where are you off to?"  
"Nowhere…unless you want me to go," he said, gesturing to the hall.   
She shook her head. "Stay. You came to say sorry or something?" Before he could answer, she added, "Don't. It was my fault. I…I guess I was disappointed."  
"Disappointed?" Neo was confused.  
Kismet's eyes slid to the floor. "I…You should know…For a long time…a lot of people thought…that I was the One." Neo's eyebrows raised. "I could…do things…in the Matrix, things that no one else could. Then…I went to the Oracle…and she told me I wasn't the One. Also…" Kismet paused. "She said I'd fight him someday…and I'd lose. When I saw you, I thought I could prove her wrong." She shook her head. "Sometimes you can change what that lady says, sometimes you can't."  
Neo smiled. "I know the feeling."  
Just then, Neo felt a tap on his shoulder and stepped aside to allow a nurse into the room. The woman checked Kismet's pulse, adjusted the IV flow, and made some notes on her chart. "How's she doing?" Neo asked.  
The nurse smiled at him. "She's doing much better. The ribs are healing nicely and the RSI-GS shouldn't leave too much of a scar."  
Neo stiffened, and noticed Kismet close her eyes. "The…RSI-GS?" Neo asked.  
"Yes," the nurse replied. "The gunshot she sustained in the Matrix to her right shoulder. It looked to be several days old. Why didn't you bring her in sooner?"  
"I was out on patrol," Kismet lied. "I'd just gotten back when I was injured in the construct."  
Neo glared at her, but said nothing. The nurse sighed, made another note, and left. Neo whirled on Kismet as soon as the nurse was gone. "Why didn't you say anything?!" he demanded. "Why didn't you go to the infirmary? Get some help…or…or…or something!!"  
Kismet kept her eyes close. "I didn't want to take up resources. Supplies are tight, and I knew I could handle it."  
"Who shot you?!" Neo asked, voice getting steadily louder.  
"Keep it down!" Kismet growled. "And who do you think? It was an agent, idiot! He killed one of my crew and I had to make him pay! I've never let an agent get away and I don't intend to start now. He wounded me, I killed him. It was a fair enough trade, and I'd do it again if I had the choice."  
Neo was momentarily shocked into silence. "You…killed an agent?"  
"Of course," she snapped. "You act like you invented it. I killed that agent, and twenty-four before him. I just didn't tell anyone about it. I figured, if people thought I could be done, we'd end up with a million dead recruits on our hands, all of 'em trying to prove they could to it, too. I take responsibility for my crew and no on else! I won't have any more blood on my hands than necessary."  
Neo stood in stunned silence. "You're telling me…that you've killed agents…You never told…and no one found out?"  
Kismet nodded. "I always made sure I was alone. As far as anyone else know, I held him off and ran like the rest."  
Neo sighed deeply and ran one hand through his hair. "I can't believe this…"  
Kismet flashed him a cocky smile. "You'd better believe it." Then, her grin folded in on itself and she looked remorseful. "Listen…again, I'm sorry. I can't explain what I did in there. I just promise you it won't happen again. I won't let it."  
Neo smiled. "I trust you."  
  
A few weeks had passed since Kismet's visit to the infirmary. She and Neo began jogging in the morning as she'd suggested. It wasn't long before he was nearly able to keep pace with her. They trained in the construct as well, though not near as violent as their first fight. Neo showed Kismet a few of his best spinning kick variations, while she introduced him to the construct's shooting range. Trinity, Chip, Link or even Morpheus would join them occasionally, but they later left, astounded by their seemingly subliminal communication. As Trinity commented, "It's like you know what she'll say before she says it, and vice versa. If you don't mind my saying, Neo, it's more than a little unsettling."  
"You mean it's weird," Neo groaned.  
"Well, if you must call it that, yes it's weird." Trinity frowned. "It's not our fault that you two are the creepiest things next to an agent."  
Neo sighed. "Thanks so much."  
"You know what I mean," Trinity said, cuffing him lightly on the back of the head.  
"Yeah, I know, but I don't even understand it myself." Neo flopped back onto his bunk, tucking his arms behind his head. "It's just…I know her almost better than I know myself and the other way around. It's unbelievable…I just know her."  
Trinity leaned over and brushed his hair from his eyes. "I'd like you to know me." She kissed him lightly.  
"I'd like to know you in a better way," he replied, and returned her kiss.  
  
*****  
Tee hee, all for now. More later. Review this, puh-leeeeese!!  
*Kat-chan out* ^_^ \/ Ja, no da! 


	2. Your mission, should you choose to accep...

Part 2: Your mission, should you choose to accept it…  
  
"Neo!"  
"YE-OW!" Neo fell out of his bunk, slamming into the tempered steel floor. Someone was pounding on his door. "Coming…" He stood, holding his head.  
"Neo, get your ass out here! Briefing, now!" Trinity was screaming through the wall. She raised her hand to pound again and nearly punched Neo in the nose. "Sorry, but come on!" She grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him after her. Neo scrambled after her, boots clanging on the floor.  
"What's going on?" he asked, trying to keep up with Trinity.  
"Mission briefing," she panted out. "There's teams diving tomorrow morning and they're giving us details. Follow me."  
Neo raced after her, thankful for Kismet's training. He scrambled after Trin through a hatchway and flattened himself to the wall as she did. The room was packed with people and Neo barely had room to breathe. He listened intently to a speech that was more along the lines of a pep talk and stared down at a sheet of paper that was thrust into his hands. It read:  
Mission profile: Intercept prototype agent program. Destroy immediately. Casualty  
index is 11.  
Following that was a list of the ships involved. The Neb was on the list; so was the Indy.   
"What's a casualty index?" Neo asked.  
"C.I.s are based on teams of eleven," Trinity explained. "They're the number of team members it's considered acceptable to lose before the mission must be aborted."  
"So…It's all right for the everyone to die?"  
"To keep the agents from getting better than they are? Of course." Kismet appeared out of nowhere at Neo's side. She looked up at him, something glinting in the depths of her eyes. "We should always be prepared to die, even if it means that only one more person lives only one more day. A sacrifice is a noble thing, even if the rewards seem small."  
Neo smiled for a reason he didn't understand. "I'll remember that."  
"Good." Kismet was gone before he could respond.  
"You have the rest of the day free," Trinity said, jerking him out of his reverie. "Just be in the dive room at six tomorrow morning."  
"Six a.m. is a long way away. Do you mind showing me around Zion?" Neo asked.  
Trinity smiled one of her rare smiles. "Not at all."  
  
"Okay, here's the plan." Kismet stood in the center of the dive room, arms folded over her chest. "Once we're in, we split into teams of three, except for me; I go with Link. Out here, the watchers will rotate, so that they stay fresh. Chip takes first watch, then Tank, and the rest of you can rotate in from there. Inside, the teams are going to try and confine the target to any given patch of city block. This is our man."   
She held up a slightly fuzzy picture of a businessman in his late twenties. "Two teams arrange an accident to distract him, while Link and I swipe his briefcase. Inside the case is the disk the agents are after. They're using him a courier; he doesn't know what he's carrying. The target will leave work, then proceed down Fifth Avenue, heading for his house on North Washington Street. One team will remain posted at his home the entire time; if he gets away from both us and the agents, he'll head straight there. Nerve, that's your group's assignment."  
A man with short, buzzed blond hair gave a nod of acknowledgment.  
"Once we get the other two teams in place around him, it'll be up to them to do a little playing in traffic. We get a nice little fender bender for everyone to stare at and Chip and I shouldn't have much trouble swapping his case for our decoy. Once we've got it, we'll blow that pretty piece of plastic to kingdom come and then everybody's out."  
"What do you mean 'play in traffic'?" Neo asked, not sure he liked where this was leading.  
Kismet grinned. "Come on, Neo. You can't tell me that with all you powers in there you can't figure out how to arrange a car accident to distract a man's attention for five minutes?"  
Neo sent her a level gaze. "I can put something together. Just get me in there."  
Kismet's gaze was equally level. "In due course, Neo. Now, any other questions?" Silence. "Good. Everyone take a seat and good luck."  
The group exchanged somber nods and selected chairs.  
  
Nerve and his three teammates left the building first, turned left, then scattered into the crowd. Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus followed, turning right, and the final team came after them. Five minutes later, Link and Kismet followed.  
Three blocks later, the two distraction teams were in position. With a few quick maneuvers and a little help from the Construct, it appeared as though two cars had collided at a stop sign. A crowd gathered to watch the fight that ensued between Trinity and Card, one of the women from the second distraction team. They posed as the drivers of the vehicles and carried out a screaming match, throwing in a few bitch slaps to keep the crowd around.   
Neo, Morpheus, and Stark (another member of the second team) tried to break up the pair at various points and were subsequently shoved aside. The crowd whooped and Kismet smirked when she thought she heard bets being placed. Suddenly, Link grabbed her arm. "Here he comes," she hissed. It was the target.   
"Right on time," Kismet whispered and backed up against a wall, the decoy briefcase in hand. As soon as he stopped to watch the fight, they'd –  
"He's not stopping!" Kismet gasped.  
The target walked past the crowd, paying it only a slight glance. "We've gotta get that case," she snarled. "Link."  
Her partner moaned. "Don't do this to me, buddy."  
"No fucking time, Link. We shoot for it, ready?"  
The brunette sighed. "Sure."  
The pair chanted in unison, "One, two, three, shoot!"  
"Scissors cut paper. You get him."  
"But you always use rock!" Link scowled.  
"I know. Either way, he's your job now."  
Link rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll keep him busy."  
She ran forward, tapped the man on the shoulder, and pulled his face to hers. She kissed him hard, keeping one hand firmly locked on the back of his head. His eyes were wide and he struggled slightly, but she refused to let go. Kismet raced forward and prepared to snatch the case, when she swore. It was handcuffed to his wrist. "Give me a little longer, Link," she said, pulling her gun from inside her coat. She fired a shot at the handle and it flew off. Thrusting the dummy case into his hand, she leapt up and ran, calling over her shoulder, "I've got it, Link, let's go!"  
The brunette pried her face from the target's and sped after Kismet. "We're leaving!" she screamed to the distraction teams.  
Neo and the rest ran down the block, leaving a disappointed crowd behind them.  
  
Kismet riffled through the briefcase, tossing papers and files aside. "Gotta be here, gotta be here…Gotcha! You sneaky bastard, you."  
She held the disk between her index and middle fingers and twirled it. "This is it?" Link demanded. "This is the 11 we've been so scared about? A little damn piece of plastic??"  
Kismet just nodded and pulled a small case out from her pocket. Flipping it open, she pinched off a piece of a putty-like substance that was inside, pressed it onto the disk, then stuck a fuse to it.  
"C4 on a floppy?!" Link yelped, scrambling backwards. "Isn't that extreme?"  
"Not on this disk." Kismet took a lighter out from her pocket and lit the fuse. "Let's go."  
The two girls ran from the building and down the street to where the other teams waited. Nods were exchanged and they hurried to the pre-determined exit. Link flipped open her phone and pressed a few numbers. "Nerve? It's done…We'll see you outside."   
A dull explosion sounded in the distance and Kismet pulled out her gun. She checked the clip, then swapped it for a fresh one. The group paused at a corner; Card peered around it cautiously at a phone booth. She waited until the phone began ringing, then ran forward and picked up the receiver. She vanished and half a second later a bullet tore through the glass of the booth.   
Trinity swore. Link grabbed her phone. "Come on, come on," she murmured. "Pick up the damn phone….Nerve! Forget the exit you had planned, man! They know! They fucking know! Get away from there and find a new way out!" Link's face paled and the hand holding her phone was shaking.  
Kismet put a hand on her friend's shoulder, surprised when the other girl jumped at the touch. "What's the matter? What did Nerve say?"  
Link shook her head. "He didn't say anything…Didn't have to…There was gunfire…Someone was screaming…I don't think they're gonna make it."  
Kismet closed her eyes, running her tongue along her lips and drawing a deep breath. She snatched Link's phone, hung it up, then dialed the Operator. "Talk to me, Tank. Where's the nearest exit?…Sounds good. I think we can get there…Before I go, how is…Oh. Okay."  
She hung up the phone and put it back in Link's coat pocket. "Tank gave me another exit that's not too far from here. We'll have to be fast if we want to make it." She didn't say anything about Nerve; it was simply understood.  
Shots rang out above them, splintering the sidewalk at their feet. They ran.   
  
"Go inside, there's a phone. Hurry!" Kismet fired several more shots at the agents across the street. "Get moving!!"  
She snarled when she spotted Neo in the doorway beside her. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"  
"Helping provide cover fire." He stopped a bullet two inches from Kismet's head.   
She snorted and batted the frozen bullet out of the air. Pulling a Tac-9 from inside her coat, she locked in a clip and sent a spray of fire across the street. Someone screamed.  
Kismet was vaguely aware of the steady rhythm behind her: ring, pick up, and hang up. When the pattern was broken, she yelled at Neo, "Your turn, hot shot!"  
"You first," he said, reloading his gun.  
"Don't you even start," she snapped. "I'm not leaving anybody out here by themselves, not even if they're the One. Now you pick up that fucking phone or I'll cut the hard line myself and we get to find another exit." She fixed him with a steely-blue glare. "Don't think for a moment I'm kidding."  
Neo didn't have the strength or patience left for a fight, so he tossed his gun aside and hung up the phone. It rang and he picked up, glancing back to the doorway. He saw Kismet smiling at him, blood running down the right side of her face, then he opened his eyes.  
  
*****  
Well, that's all for now. Sorry this took so long to get up. I'll write part 3 and have it posted ASAP.   
Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed part 1, pledging to stick with me through this madness. It means more than you can know.  
Until next time...  
*Kat-chan out* ^_^ \/ 


	3. Show me the way to go home...

Fate Wears a Black Coat  
Part 3: Show me the way to go home…  
  
"Is she okay?" Neo sat bolt upright as soon as the mind probe was removed.   
"Whoa, there. Take it easy." Link kept him from leaping from the chair. "They took her to the infirmary for a couple of stitches. It was just a little RSI head laceration. Looks worse than it is." She smiled. "Pretty worried over a girl that's threatened to kill you on several occasions."  
Neo sighed and closed his eyes. "How's everyone else?"  
Link hesitated. "Card, Trinity, and Morpheus are a hundred percent. Stark got grazed by a bullet, and the other girl in his team, Royal, caught several shots in her thigh. The funeral for Nerve's team is tomorrow afternoon." She rushed the last sentence, as though it would mean something different that way.   
Neo was quiet for a while. "Okay. What time?"  
  
Card sang at the service. For a tough looking woman, she had a surprisingly beautiful voice. Several of the teams' friends made remarks, Kismet included.  
"Nerve was one of my best friends when we were just nameless recruits on a ship that wasn't ours," she said. "We made fun of the food, the uniforms, and the captain. We got in trouble for making fun of the food and the uniforms." A few laughs rippled through the assembled crowd. "We got shot at, yelled at, and cussed out those who did that do us. He was an incredible guy because he was always ready to listen to you. If you gave him a problem, he'd give you an answer for it and the three other problems you hadn't thought of yet."   
She smiled. "He saved my life once. Did you know? We got backed into a corner. I was shooting like crazy, trying to hold the agents back. All of a sudden, Nerve just jumps on top of me. I didn't know why at the time; I figured, hey, people do strange stuff if they think they're gonna die. I muttered something about it being a hell of a time for a relationship, when he just points at the wall. There was this big damn hunting knife sticking in the wall; if I'd been standing, it would have gone straight through my head. Back-up showed up just then so we got out okay. I never forgot it, though. I kept thanking the guy and he kept saying it was nothing. That's just the was Nerve was."  
She sniffed and wiped something from her eye. "Bye, Scott. Hope you don't mind I used your real name. I know how you hate it, but it just seems more like you. I'm gonna miss you. And thank you, one last time."  
After that, the crowd began to gradually drift away. Neo felt a touch on his arm. It was Kismet. "Wanna get a drink?" she asked.  
He found himself nodding.  
  
They sat on the bunk in his room, each holding a chipped mug and occasionally reaching for the alcohol-filled can between them. Kismet took a sip, looking at Neo over the rim of the mug. "I've gotten new orders," she said. "It's time for me to head out and maybe free a few more souls. I have to leave in a few hours."  
She paused. "But before I go, I wanted to tell you something." She drained the rest of her mug in one swallow. "I want to tell you a story, Neo. Once upon a time, back in the Matrix, there was a happy little family: a father, a mother, and a son. When the son was about ten years old, his mom gave birth to a little sister. After the little girl was born, the mother started to act differently. On a sunny afternoon five years later, in a fit of full-blown post-partum depression, the mother put the daughter down for a nap, took the father's gun from its hiding place, went down into the basement and put a bullet through her head."  
She stopped, refilled her mug, drained it again. "The daughter heard the noise and wondered what it was. She got out of bed and wandered the house, trying to find her mother who would explain everything. When she couldn't find her, the little girl saw that the basement door was open and went down the stairs. Usually, the basement scared the shit out of her, but since it was the only place her mommy could be, she decided it would be okay. Upon getting to the bottom of the stairs, she found her mother, flat on the floor with half her head gone and blood all over. She started screaming. She didn't stop screaming until her brother got home an hour and a half later. He brought his sister out of the basement and called his father at work. There was a funeral a few days later. The little girl didn't speak from the time her brother rescued her to nearly three weeks after the funeral."  
She drank another mug of liquor. "The girl grew up, never saying much more than necessary. She developed abilities as a hacker, using it to earn cash and spending it all looking for the Answer to the Question. Her father remarried and her stepmother was neither good nor bad, simply there. Then, one day, the girl got a phone call on her private line that told her about the car waiting outside. She went to a dark building and swallowed a red pill."  
Neo's hands were shaking. "What ever happened to the brother?"  
Kismet smiled. "He's done rather well for himself, I hear. He finished up high school, did well in college, and was hired by a software company due to his skill with computers. One day, he got a phone call, too. He found the Answer and turns out he's the One. He also managed to find his sister."  
Tears ran down Neo's cheeks. "Tasha…"  
Kismet stood up, shaking her head. "No, Tom. Tasha died twelve years ago in a basement." She leaned over and kissed him lightly on the forehead. "I have to go now. Be good."  
She walked out, not hesitating even when she heard the coffee mug shatter on the floor.  
  
Someone was pounding on her door. Kismet lifted her head wearily from her pillow. She couldn't have been asleep for more than thirty minutes; this was her first nap in nearly 48 hours. "What?" she demanded, throwing herself out of bed. "This had better be good."  
She flung the door open to find a frightened looking young man staring her in the face. "Kismet, it's Squiddies…I-I mean Sentinels! Six of them, closing in fast!"  
"Thanks, Spark," she said, shoving past him. Scrambling through the dive room, she noticed Link and two others still in chairs. "Haven't they gotten out yet?" she barked at the officer on dive watch.  
"They're headed to an exit now," Bugger replied. "Should be out in three."  
"We don't have three seconds, forget three minutes!" Kismet snarled. She punched her right fist into her left palm. "Damn it! Charge the EMP!"  
She could hear it, the familiar back ground hum and the scent of electricity. But she couldn't use it yet, not yet…Kismet moved over to the control switch for the EMP. She would wait.  
  
…Tracking….Target Acquired…Begin Attack Pattern…  
  
The Squiddies were tearing into the hull; she could hear them. She looked over at Link, Volt, and Pulse, lying in their chairs and looking like sleeping innocents. But she knew that wasn't true. She'd seen them kill, many times. It'd didn't really matter much now, anyway. They were in the ship.  
  
….Searching…Searching…Heat Signature Found…Incorrect…Eliminate…  
  
She saw Spark go flying through the air, the upper half of him still holding the shocker rifle he'd tried to fight the Squiddies with. It didn't matter.  
  
…Searching…Heat Signature Found…Incorrect…Eliminate…Searching…Searching…  
  
Bugger yelled something at the tentacle creeping nearer to him. His words were lost when the metal arm tightened around his neck and his head was suddenly not there. Another tally mark. It didn't matter.  
  
…Searching…Heat Signature Found…Incorrect…Eliminate…Searching…  
  
Pulse's dive chair was torn out of the floor as the Squiddies approached. It was thrown against the opposite bulkhead. Sooner or later, everyone would die. It didn't matter.  
  
I don't want to do it again…Don't make me do it again…Don't make me kill good people for no reason…This isn't right…Please…Not again…  
  
…Heat Signature Found…Incorrect…Eliminate…Searching…  
  
Volt was dead, torn in half and cast aside. She looked at Link and was amazed. Link's eyes were open. She walked slowly away from the EMP switch and unplugged her friend. "Link," she whispered. "Get out of here. Hide back there against the wall. Maybe you can live through this. Please try. For me."  
"But what about you?" Link demanded.  
"This is an order," she said. "Save yourself."  
  
…Heat Signatures Found…One Mobile…Follow?…Negative, Incorrect Signature…Correct Signature Found…Apprehend…  
  
One tentacle arm wrapped around Kismet's waist. She went slack, fully prepared to be torn to pieces. She was surprised when the Sentinel that held her began to move back towards the gaping hole in the ship; the other five trailing behind it. They were taking her somewhere…Whatever.  
It didn't matter.  
  
Hours…Days…Years later, Link crawled from her hiding place against the bulkhead, behind the remains of Pulse's dive chair. Her mind was reeling. In the space of less than ten minutes, four people had been killed within feet of her and her commanding officer and best friend had been captured by Squiddies. The ship was virtually decimated; the likelihood of operable communications was slim and none. There was the chance another ship might pass by, but it was an awfully big "might."   
So she did the only thing she could think of. She cried.  
  
  
*******  
Author's Note: This chapter was written prior to the events in Houston. My prayers are with the family.  
On the lighter side, thanks for putting up with the first two chapters of my insanity. Hope I'm still keeping you interested.  
Anyone surprised? Did anyone already guess?? Anyone just going "Post the next chapter, damn you!!"??? Either way, pleeeeeeeeease review. Starving artists revel in praise. (And we write faster, too!)  
Part four needs a little more tweeking, but it should be up pretty soon. Keep watching!  
*Kat-chan out* ^_^ \/  
PS - Anybody know where I got the title from? First correct guess wins...well, you don't win anything, but you can say you did! 


	4. The Resistance regrets to inform you...

Fate Wears a Black Coat  
Part 4: The Resistance regrets to inform you…  
  
"Neo…Neo, open the door."  
"I'm sleeping," he mumbled and rolled over, pulling the blanket over his head.  
"Neo, this is important. You need to come out here."  
"Trinity…"  
"Now, damn you!"  
Neo jerked upright. Trinity never got very emotional, and she had never yelled at him before. Also, there was something about her voice…It sounded like she'd been crying…But Trinity didn't cry…  
"I'm coming." Neo got out of bed and quickly pulled on some clothes. Weren't these the same ones he'd worn yesterday? He couldn't remember. Wasn't important anyway.  
"What's going on?" He opened the door.  
Trinity looked at him with an emotionless expression that was betrayed by her reddened eyes. "You need to come with me. There's been an incident."  
  
Everyone was packed into the briefing room. People were in various states of shock; apparently some word of what happened had all ready gotten around. The crowd parted before Neo and Trinity, everyone looking at him solemnly; a few people shook their heads, some patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. There were some chairs past the crowd and two in the very front were empty. Trinity led him in that direction and they sat down. Something was very wrong. Neo didn't like where this was going.  
A man Neo knew only as Target stepped up to a small, battered podium in the front of the room. He had a few sheets of paper in his hands that he kept switching back and forth nervously. The sound of it was getting progressively more annoying. Finally, Target cleared his throat. What little chatter had been present in the room ceased.  
"About twenty-four hours ago, we lost communication with our ship Indefatigable," he began. "It is believed it was attacked by Sentinels."  
People began talking again, but immediately shut up when Target continued. "We are optimistic as to the number of survivors. From what little sensor data we could retrieve, the attack was very brief. Either the EMP was used or the Sentinels were called away for another task in mid-assault. As I'm sure many of you know, the most likely is the first."  
"Not if it was Kismet's boat," someone muttered. A few voices echoed the sentiment. Everyone knew of Kismet's previous command and her use of the EMP. If any of her crew had been in the Matrix during the attack, she would have waited until the ship was in shreds rather than kill them.  
Target cleared his throat again; the quieting down took longer this time. "We have the last known location of the Indefatigable. Is there a ship that's willing to go out and see…what the condition is?"  
The room exploded in sound, voices screaming that they were the only logical choice. It was getting louder and louder…  
"No." It was one word and it didn't seem all that loud to the speaker, but it was enough to silence everyone. Neo stood up. "I'm going."  
"Why you?" someone in the back yelled. "She hates you. She tried to kill you, remember?"  
"I'm going," Neo repeated. "I'm going to bring my sister home."  
Poets have often called silence deafening. It was never more true than after that sentence.  
"Sister?" Trinity whispered. "Kismet…is your sister?"  
"Mhm…She told me…before she left," Neo said softly. "I have to bring her back."  
"Okay." Trinity put one hand on his shoulder. "Get anything you want to bring with you. I'll tell Morpheus and we'll be ready to go in ten minutes, I promise you."  
Neo nodded, shakily. His mouth was suddenly very dry.  
  
Link lay next to the bulkhead, snuggled tight against the curve of metal. She had tried sleeping in her room, but every time she would wake up she kept expecting to hear the familiar noises of the ship: footsteps on the gratings, swearing at the food or life in general, laughter over some private joke. The silence was getting to her.  
She figured she'd been alone for about a day. She tried to send some sort of distress signal, but the comms were down. The data recorder had been unscathed, though, and she made sure that it was ready to transmit at a request from Zion. The work was good; it kept her mind off of the four dead bodies lying under tarps in the dive room. She had taken a peek in the engine room and spent a few hours messing around with a wrench and a blowtorch, unable to get the engines back to working capacity but pleased that she'd at least tried. Again, it was something to do.  
She sat up and stretched; the metal having proved uncomfortable. Link shuffled down to her room, snatched her blanket and scrambled back up the hatchway to the dive room. Wrapping the blanket around her shoulders, Link righted the overturned dive watch chair and sat down. She pulled her knees to her chest, made sure that every bit of her was covered with blanket, and fell asleep. It was something to do.  
  
"What's up?" Neo asked, coming up into the cockpit.  
"We've got a signature up ahead. We think it's the Indy," Morpheus said.  
Neo nodded. "Are we going to board it?" he demanded, voice a little harsher than he would have liked.  
"As soon as we can get along side. Try and stay calm, Neo," Morpheus urged. "We all know the crew of that ship. It's as mush a strain on us as on you."  
Neo sighed. "I'm sorry."  
"Don't be." Morpheus looked the younger man in the eyes. "Trinity told me."  
"It's crazy, you know?" Neo laughed a little, running a hand through his hair. "I hadn't thought about her in years. I guess…I just wanted to get away from everything that had happened."  
"I take it something bad occurred?" Morpheus raised an eyebrow.  
"Yeah…you could call it that." Before Neo could say anything else, Morpheus turned his attentions back to the controls.   
"Strap yourself in," he said. "We're about to dock."  
  
"Hello? Is anybody here?" Neo called into the blackness of the ship. He raised the glow-lamp higher, trying to make out a human shape in the darkness.  
"Kismet? Anybody? Hello?" He moved further into the ship, calling at various intervals. Finally, he heard an answer.  
"Is…somebody out there? I'm in the dive room. Hello?" There was a pause. "Anybody?" The person laughed bitterly. "Guess I'm just losing it. Hearing voices now…isn't that one of the first signs of insanity or something? Who knows…It doesn't really matter now anyway."  
Neo called out again. "Who's there? It's me, Neo. Who is it?"  
"Neo? Oh God! It's Link! I'm in the dive room! Hurry!!"  
Neo scrambled along catwalks and up several ladders before finding the dive room. Link sat huddled in the watch chair, a blanket wrapped around her. Four shapes were visible underneath a tarp off to one side. A cold chill ran down Neo's spine.  
Link saw where his eyes had drifted. "Don't worry about it. She's not there." When Neo remained quiet, she continued. "She told me as we were pulling out, told me that she's your sister. It was like…she knew or something. Like she wanted to tell you in case she didn't get another chance."  
"Where is she, Link?" Neo asked.  
Link began to laugh softly, but when she looked up there were tear stains on her cheeks. She said, as though reciting from a document, "The Resistance regrets to inform you that your sister has been taken by Sentinels and we are currently unaware of her present condition. We can only assume she was taken for the codes to Zion and is either being interrogated or deceased. She made valuable contributions to our cause and was an excellent officer. We can only hope to see more like her in the future."  
At that point, the young woman broke down completely and sobbed. Neo pressed his lips together and walked over to Link. He helped her out of the chair and sat next to her on the floor, allowing her to cling to him for support. He reached for the headset Morpheus had given him. "Morpheus, it's Neo…I think everyone needs to come in here. I'm in the Indy's dive room…It's bad. Really bad."  
  
They threw her into a dive chair, or at least their semblance of one. It was hardly comfortable and Kismet snarled and struggled as they strapped her in. A robotic arm forced her head back and the mind probe shot into her skull. She screamed, arching her back and thrashing. It was an invasion on intimate levels, bordering on rape. Her head felt like it would explode…  
She opened her eyes and found herself in an office building. She was in a chair, arms cuffed behind her. A man in a brown suit with sunglasses and an ear-piece stood before her. He smiled.  
"Hello, Ms. Anderson."  
"That's not my name, fuckwad," she spat. "What do you want?"  
"Zion's mainframe codes," he said. His voice gave Kismet chills.  
"Cold day in Hell before you get those from me," she fired back.  
"I do believe there's a front coming through, Ms. Anderson." The agent smiled and made a slight motion with his head. Only then did Kismet realize there was someone behind her, as the needle was pressed into her flesh. She looked back up at the agent in front of her and bared her teeth at him. She blinked. The colors were wrong. The room was spinning. She felt like she was going to throw up. She opened her mouth to say something, but holding her head up was taking too much effort…Her head lolled to her chest and the last thing she saw was the agent smiling in satisfaction.  
  
"Ms. Anderson…Time to talk, Ms. Anderson…"  
"Go away…"  
"What are the codes, Ms. Anderson?"  
"…Fuck off…"  
"I doubt that's the code. Try again, Ms. Anderson."  
"Not my name…Quit…calling me that…"  
"Come now, Ms. Anderson. You don't want me to have to kill someone to make my point."  
"What…who…"  
"We are not uninformed, Ms. Anderson. We can find your brother if we truly want to."  
"No…"  
"Yes, Ms. Anderson. Tell me the codes, Ms. Anderson, and your brother won't have to die."  
"Not Neo…"  
"Yes, Ms. Anderson. We can find him and we can kill him. You don't want that."  
"No…"  
"All you have to do is give me the codes, Ms. Anderson. Then it won't hurt anymore."  
"No…"  
"Don't be difficult, Ms. Anderson. Please."  
"No…"  
"If you must struggle, Ms. Anderson…Double the dosage."  
"But…that could kill her…"  
"Double the dosage."  
"Yes, sir."  
"See what you made me do, Ms. Anderson?"  
  
"She's not responding."  
"How long has it been?"  
"Twelve hours, almost."  
"Hm…she's not going to talk."  
"We could try something else…"  
"You've tried enough. Forget the codes. She has another use."  
"As?"  
"Bait."  
"A hostage?"  
"No…something different. I propose we put her back into the system."  
"Plug her back in?"  
"Full memory wipe, then re-insert her into the Matrix."  
"And?"  
"Arrange it so that…Mr. Anderson runs into his sister."  
"He won't like that very much…"  
"You remember what he did when we captured Morpheus."  
"An all-out assault. You think he'll be so reckless again?"  
"It stands to reason. He will be seeking a vent for his anger. When he finds it, we'll be ready."  
"Excellent…Wait, what if he tries to retrieve his sister, memories or no?"  
"You know the statistics. The re-inserted never survive the second extraction."  
"Shall we send her to the plant now?"  
"Yes. I want her ready and waiting when Mr. Anderson arrives."  
  
When they carried her away, she was only vaguely aware of it. What she did notice was that she was surprisingly calm and decided that this was what it must be like to know you will die.  
  
******  
SOOOOOOOOOO sorry that this took so long to get up! I went out of town and couldn't upload this chapter before I left. Gomen, mina-san!  
Chapter five is almost ready, so it should be here soon. Until then!  
*Kat-chan out* ^_^ \/ 


	5. Give me a call...

Part 5: Give me a call…  
  
Neo's head was spinning. Nothing seemed to make any sense. The entire crew of the Indy had been killed, except for Kismet, who had been carried off by the Squiddies. They had come there looking for her. Whether it was for the codes alone or that the Agents had discovered her relationship to him, no one could say. He needed some place to go, somewhere out of the steel confines of the Neb. Somewhere where they didn't know who he was, what he had done, what he could do. He needed strangers.  
He needed the Matrix.  
  
Neo sighed and leaned back against the bench. He knew the smell of flowers, hot dog vendors, and car exhaust wasn't real , but it was comforting in its own way. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander. Yes, he would have to find some way to save Kismet, but for now, he just needed room to breathe.   
"Hi, there."  
He opened his eyes slightly, only catching a glimpse of red and hearing the rustle of fabric. He sat up, staring after the woman in the red dress. He remembered the other woman from the training program, remembered Mouse. Something inside twinged. He stood up and walked after the woman.   
Her dark black hair was styled to perfection and there was a certain authoritative stride about her that didn't quite fit with the sex-symbol appearance. Neo reached out a hand and tapped her on the shoulder.   
"Yes?" She turned around, blue-gray eyes sparkling.   
He gasped. "Kismet…"  
Her eyebrows furrowed. "I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. My name's Tasha. Tasha Anderson."  
Neo remained frozen with shock. Kismet looked at him, a puzzled expression on her face. "You know," she murmured, "I just got the weirdest feeling that I knew you a long time ago…"   
Suddenly, her whole frame shuddered and her expression changed to a soft, sad smile. "They're taunting you, Neo," she whispered, brushing his cheek with the back of her hand. "They're showing you something you can't get back again. Let me go, Neo. Write my name on the wall and let me go."  
Just as suddenly, she shuddered again and the confused look was back. "Listen," she said, "I've really gotta go. If you'd like to hook up or something later, just give me a call." She pressed a business card into his hand. "I'll see you later."  
With that, she walked away, leaving a shattered Neo behind her.  
  
Neo pulled his cell phone from his coat pocket. "Tank, it's Neo. I need you to write down this number for me." He looked at the business card. "815-216-1350. It means something. Figure it out. Also, where's the nearest exit? There's something everyone needs to hear."  
  
Tank gestured to the screen. "All right, ladies and gentlemen. After several hours of hard work and brain power – "  
"I helped him," Link interjected.  
Tank glared at her. "Anyway, the phone number is a message. Each number is a letter. At first it didn't make any sense." He pressed a few keys and the initial decode came up. "See? H-E-A, B-A-F, A-C-E is nonsense, seeing as zero isn't a letter. But, if you take out the hyphens and assume that the ones aren't 'A's, but 12, 16, and 13…." He pressed a few more keys. The letters changed. "H-E-L-P M-E."  
Tank looked back over his shoulder at the assembled crew. "Help me."  
Neo leapt for a dive chair, but Trinity grabbed his arm. "No, Neo! That's what the Agents want. All of this is a giant trap."  
He glared at her, but she continued. "Listen, you said Kismet told you to write her name on the wall." When Neo didn't answer, she explained, "There is a wall in Zion's dive room reserved for the names of those who die in the Resistance. When someone is killed, a person close to them is selected to write their name and a message on the wall. She wants you to let her go. This phone number is a trap by the Agents."  
She waved a hand at the decoded message. "Kismet wouldn't want you to risk yourself for her."  
"But…" Neo murmured. "Why give me the phone number then…?"  
Trinity sighed. "She's had her memory erased, Neo. She's the Agent's puppet now. The part of her that does remember you told you to stay away. She wants you to live because she knows she won't."  
Neo bit his lower lip. "I'm gonna go back in, but not for Kismet. There's somebody I need to talk to."  
  
He pressed the button for the Oracle's floor. He noticed the initials carved on the wall and ran his fingers over them in boredom. "I wonder who Kym is," he murmured absently. Suddenly, it was his floor. He headed down the familiar hall, inhaling its musty smell. When he arrived outside the Oracle's door, it opened as his hand reached for the knob.   
"Welcome, Neo," murmured the priestess on the other side. "We are terribly sorry."  
"There was nothing you could have done," he said, shifting his gaze to the floor.  
"Come in. She's waiting in the kitchen."  
Neo practically glided past the living room with the potential children, surely floating blocks and bending spoons. Had he looked, he would have noticed that the normally active children weren't moving. They followed him with their eyes and a few cringed, as if they could feel something when he passed.  
Neo stepped into the kitchen, unconsciously scooting to the right in order to avoid the vase that may or may not have been put back together. There was a shattering sound and someone in the living room yelped. Neo looked down at the pieces of green vase lying near his feet.  
The Oracle smiled sadly at him. "I didn't have time to tell you I'd moved it," she sighed. "I suppose it was bound to happen, though." She gestured to a plate of sugar cookies on the counter. "Take one." Neo obliged, nibbling on it nervously. "I'd ask you to sit but…" Neo sat on a kitchen stool.  
The Oracle raised an eyebrow. "That was unexpected."  
Neo took the cookie out of his mouth. "I thought you knew everything."  
"Almost." The Oracle sank into a chair. She sighed deeply and suddenly looked much older than Neo had ever seen her look. "It's getting crazy, Neo."  
Neo took another bite of the cookie. "I came to ask you…"  
"About Kismet?" The Oracle chuckled. "God, she was a bright girl. It's obvious she's your sister."  
Neo ignored the past tense. "Is there any way I can get her out?"  
The Oracle lit a cigarette, taking a long drag before answering. "Maybe. It's hard to tell. So much static…You could try to unplug her, but you should know…Mostly, they don't make it through the second time."  
"But there's a chance?"  
She shook her head. "My, you're the optimist. Yes, she might make it. She might not. The Agents could pull her themselves and make you watch, for I all I can say." She shrugged. "It's your choice, Neo. Because you don't believe in fate."  
He smiled. "No, but I believe in kismet."  
  
"What are you going to do?" Trinity asked.  
Neo stretched, popping his back in three places. "About Kismet? No idea. Right now? I'm gonna go to sleep and take it from there."  
  
Neo was dreaming. Kismet was sitting on the edge of a roof, legs dangling over the side and swinging. Wind ran through her hair as she smiled at him. She laughed and slid gracefully off the edge. Neo screamed and looked over the edge, but she had disappeared. He turned around and saw Kismet standing on the roof behind him. She was wearing black pants, a black shirt, and a red leather jacket. She held up her right wrist, to display the bracelet hanging there.   
It was a cross, hanging upside-down. Neo asked her why the cross was wrong. She told him so that when she held it it was right-side up, demonstrating by laying the crucifix in her palm. It did indeed now face the correct way. She smiled sadly and said she had to go. Neo pleaded with her to stay, but she said she had someone else to visit. She kissed him good-bye and vanished.  
  
Neo woke up drenched in cold sweat. He put one hand to his forehead and drew deep panting breaths. Had that been real? Was it just some panic-induced dream or had Kismet been trying to talk to him? If she had been, how had she done it? What was going on?  
Neo closed his eyes and sighed. He wanted to save Kismet. She was his sister; he couldn't leave her. But if what the Oracle said was true…About them not surviving…  
He shook his head frantically. No, not going to think about that.   
What if the Agents had her tracked so heavily he wouldn't have time to get near her before he was filled with more bullets than he could stop?  
Not going to think about that.  
What if the Oracle's other suggestion was true? About the Agents unplugging Kismet without getting her consciousness out? Making him watch her die? Letting him know it was all his fault?  
Not going to think about that.  
What if he could get her out? Bring her home?  
He'd think about that.  
  
*****  
Hey, everybody! I know; long time, no see. It's been kinda hectic lately so updating's been out of the question. I hope you like this chapter and I'll get six up as soon as i can.   
See later!  
Peace, love, and donuts everyone!  
^_^ \/ 


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